Investigation of structural, thermal and dielectric properties of PVA/Na-Bentonite composites

n this study, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/Na-Bentonite composites were prepared. In the preparation ofcomposites, a maximum of 13% polymer by mass was loaded into the clay. Structural properties ofcomposites prepared by solution mixing technique were examined using X-ray fluorescence spectrometry(XRF), Fourier Transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. Dielectricproperties were determined with the help of Dielectric spectroscopy (DS). From the XRF study, it wasunderstood that the origin of the clay was Calcium bentonite (Ca-Bentonite) provided from the Asbro-Horio reservoir on the island of Milos, Greece, and that the Supplier (Imerys-T & uuml;rkiye) converted the clay into Na-Bentonite through the sodium enrichment process. From XRD and FTIR measurements, it was observed thatPVA interacted with the Na-Bentonite surface instead of being located between the Na-Bentonite galleries. This interaction between polymer and clay limited both the segmental movement of the polymer chains andthe orientation of the hydroxyl groups on the clay surface. The electrode polarization effect is significantlyreduced in composites with low PVA content. In low-dimensional capacitive systems, the use of materialswith low dielectric constant comes to the fore to prevent resistance-capacitance (RC delay) delay. Theimportant factor affecting the dielectric constant in the low frequency region is the electrode polarizationeffect. Thus, the low electrode polarization effect composites produced in this study can serve this purpose.